2026 college football news and notes

[InThe313]

Welcome back to, in my opinion, the best sport on Earth.  College football returns today with the opening kickoff in… Dublin?  Really?!  Any way, the prestige and pageantry on the sport is back with several transfers jumping around and new schools in the FBS ranks.  Welcome to the circus, North Dakota State and Sacramento State.  Here’s the opening day schedule.

North Carolina Tar Heels at TCU Horned Frogs today at 12 p.m.
San Jose State Spartans at USC Trojans today at 3 p.m.
NC State Wolfpack at Virginia Cavaliers today at 3:30 p.m.
Jacksonville State Gamecocks at North Dakota State Bison today at 5:30 p.m.
Sacramento State Hornets at Eastern Michigan Eagles tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at Stanford Cardinal tonight at 7 p.m.
New Mexico State Aggies at Florida State Seminoles tonight at 7:30 p.m.
Memphis Tigers at UNLV Rebels tonight at 10 p.m.

[InThe313]

Welcome back, college football!  We have a slew of big games going on today.  North Carolina is playing TCU in Dublin right now.  NC State will play Virginia today at 3:30 p.m.  New Mexico State will play Florida State tonight at 7 p.m.  Updates to come.

North Carolina beat TCU, 15-10.
Virginia beat NC State, 34-8.
Florida State beat New Mexico State, 34-17.

[InThe313]

What a terrible way to start the season.  A Division II running back died after experiencing a medical emergency on the sideline shortly after scoring a touchdown.

[InThe313]

I’ve loved this show for years and I’m glad to see it hit an important milestone.  A happy 500th road show to “College GameDay”.

[InThe313]

We have a big day of college football ahead of us.  East Carolina is playing No. 13 Alabama right now.  Tennessee State will play No. 3 Georgia today at 3 p.m.  Head coach Lane Kiffin will make his No. 11 LSU debut tonight at 7 p.m.  Updates to come.

Alabama beat East Carolina, 48-10.
Georgia beat Tennessee State, 63-3.

UPDATE:  After a long storm delay, it is finally time for football.  Can Kiffin and LSU prevail in Death Valley against head coach Dabo Swinney and Clemson?

LSU beat Clemson, 51-10.

[InThe313]

This is when you know college football is back!  No. 6 Indiana’s Nick Marsh made a must-see one-handed touchdown catch to kick off Week 1.  Updates to come.

Indiana beat North Texas, 52-16.

[InThe313]

What a thriller tonight in Ann Arbor!  No. 16 Michigan’s Bryce Underwood connected on a Hail Mary on the final play after the refs put time back on the clock to beat Western Michigan, 13-12.

[InThe313]

The new AP Poll is here and, as per usual, the shake-ups have been great.  Michigan fell out and LSU climbed into the Top 10.  Here's the full Top 25 and who awaits them.

1.  Ohio State (at No. 4 Texas on Saturday in Austin, Texas)
2.  Georgia (vs. Western Kentucky on Saturday in Athens, Ga.)
3.  Notre Dame (vs. Rice on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.)
4.  Texas (vs. No. 1 Ohio State on Saturday in Austin, Texas)
5.  Indiana (vs. Howard on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.)
6.  Oregon (at Oklahoma State on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.)
7.  Miami (Fla.) (vs. Florida A&M on Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
8.  LSU (vs. Louisiana Tech on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La.)
9.  Ole Miss (vs. Charlotte on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.)
10.  Texas A&M (vs. Arizona State on Saturday in College Station, Texas)
11.  Oklahoma (at Michigan on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.)
12.  Alabama (at Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington, Ky.)
13.  Texas Tech (at Oregon State on Saturday in Corvallis, Ore.)
14.  USC (vs. Louisiana on Saturday in Los Angeles)
15.  BYU (vs. Arizona on Saturday in Provo, Utah)
16.  Penn State (at Temple on Saturday in Philadelphia)
17.  SMU (vs. UC Davis on Saturday in Dallas)
18.  Tennessee (at Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta)
19.  Washington (vs. Utah State on Saturday in Seattle)
20.  Utah (vs. Arkansas on Saturday in Salt Lake City)
21.  Iowa (vs. Iowa State on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa)
22.  Houston (vs. Southern on Saturday in Houston)
23.  Missouri (at Kansas on Friday in Lawrence, Kan.)
24.  Louisville (vs. Villanova on Friday in Louisville, Ky.)
25.  Virginia (vs. Norfolk State on Friday in Charlottesville, Va.)

[InThe313]

Someone should’ve warned that Hell’s coming with them.  Oklahoma State snapped No. 6 Oregon’s 41-game unbeaten streak against unranked opponents, 39-31.  The Cowboys’ Drew Mestemaker had 426 total yards and three touchdowns.

[InThe313]

It is time for the game of the year.  No. 1 Ohio State is playing No. 4 Texas right now.  The Longhorns’ Arch Manning is among the Heisman favorites.  The Buckeyes’ Jeremiah Love had 151 yards last week.  Updates to come.

UPDATE:  Okay, that was actually impressive.  Ohio State got an unreal interception after a diving catch attempt by Texas’ Cam Coleman.

UPDATE 2:  We have a fight on our hands.  Texas has cut Ohio State’s lead to 23-17 with 7:14 to play.

UPDATE 3:  Horns up!  Texas’ go-ahead touchdown with 25 seconds left capped a 21-point fourth quarter in a 24-23 comeback upset over Ohio State.

[InThe313]

Chaos reigns supreme again.  The new college football AP poll is here.  There’s a new No. 1 and Ohio State and Oregon tumbled.  Here’s the full Top 25 and what awaits them.

1.  Texas (vs. UTSA on Saturday in Austin, Texas)
2.  Georgia (at Arkansas on Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.)
3.  Notre Dame (vs. Michigan State on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.)
4.  Indiana (vs. Western Kentucky on Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.)
5.  Miami (Fla.) (at Wake Forest on Friday in Winston-Salem, N.C.)
6.  Ohio State (vs. Kent State on Saturday in Columbus, Ohio)
7.  LSU (at No. 8 Ole Miss on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.)
8.  Ole Miss (vs. 7 LSU on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.)
9.  Texas A&M (vs. Kentucky on Saturday in College Station, Texas)
10.  Alabama (vs. Florida State on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
11.  BYU (at Colorado State on Saturday in Fort Collins, Colo.)
12.  USC (at Rutgers on Saturday in Piscataway, N.J.)
13.  Texas Tech (vs. No. 22 Houston on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas)
14.  Penn State (vs. Buffalo on Saturday in State College, Pa.)
15.  Tennessee (vs. Kennesaw State on Saturday in Knoxville, Tenn.)
16. SMU (at No. 23 Louisville on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.)
17.  Utah (vs. Utah State on Saturday in Salt Lake City)
18.  Iowa (vs. Northern Iowa on Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa)
19.  Michigan (vs. UTEP on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich.)
20.  Missouri (vs. Troy on Saturday in Columbia, Mo.)
21.  Oregon (vs. Portland State on Saturday in Eugene, Ore.)
22.  Houston (at No. 13 Texas Tech on Friday in Lubbock, Texas)
23.  Louisville (vs. No. 16 SMU on Saturday in Louisville, Ky.)
24.  Oklahoma (vs. New Mexico on Saturday in Norman, Okla.)
25.  Virginia (vs. West Virginia on Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.)